Research interests

• Fish ecology
• Landscape ecology
• Riverine habitats
• Fluvial ecosystems
• Rehabilitation ecology
• Eco-hydrology

Background

Craig started research in Macropod physiology with an honours project at UNSW. His interest soon shifted to fish ecology whilst working as a fish technician with the former NSW Fisheries, assessing the effectiveness of fishways in inland and coastal rivers. Large floodplain rivers of the Murray-Darling Basin have been the focus for much of Craig’s research to date. As a PhD candidate with the CRC for Freshwater Ecology, Craig used a multidisciplinary approach (incorporating ecology, geomorphology and hydrology) to investigate fish habitat associations, thus helping determine the best scale to map and document fish habitats in dryland river systems. This research greatly improved the understanding of critical issues affecting the sustainability of native fish populations in these rivers and won him a student conservation award from the NSW Department of Primary Industries. Craig is currently employed as a Research Scientist with the Aquatic Ecosystems branch of the NSW Department of Primary Industries, based at the Port Stephens Fisheries Centre, where he leads a number of conservation research projects into fluvial ecosystems and aquatic rehabilitation projects in both freshwater and estuarine systems.

*NSW Department of Primary Industries was formed on July 1, 2004 through an amalgamation of NSW Agriculture, NSW Fisheries, State Forests of NSW and the NSW Department of Mineral Resources.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science, Zoology major (Hons, first class), University of NSW. (1998)
• PhD, University of Canberra. (2007)
  

Current projects

• Monitoring and evaluation of coastal river rehabilitation projects;
• Monitoring and evaluation of the Bourke to Brewarrina Demonstration Reach;
• Monitoring and Evaluation of the Namoi Demonstration Reach;
• Developing a monitoring framework for Demonstration Reaches in the Murray-Darling Basin;
• Lateral Fish Movements in Moira Lake wetland;
• Ecological evaluation of cold water pollution mitigation in the Namoi River;
• Murray River Fishway Assessment Project;
• Mitigating native fish entrainment in irrigation offtakes.

Recent Publications

Barrett J, Baumgartner LJ and Boys CA (2008) The need for fish passage in the Murray-Darling Basin. In: J. Barrett and J. Prentice (eds.). Improving Fish Passage in the Murray River. Murray-Darling Basin Commission, Canberra (in press).

Baumgartner LJ, Boys CA, Zampatti B and Stuart IG (2008) Assessment of fish passage through fishways at Lock 7, 9 and 10. In: J. Barrett and J. Prentice (eds.). Improving Fish Passage in the Murray River. Murray-Darling Basin Commission, Canberra (in press).

Boys CA, Miles N and Rayner T (2008) Scoping options for assessing the impact of cold water pollution mitigation on the fish assemblage downstream of Keepit Dam, Namoi River. Fisheries Final Report Series. NSW Department of Primary Industries, Nelson Bay (in press).

Boys CA (2007) Fish-Habitat Associations in a Large Dryland River of the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia. PhD Thesis, Water Resource Centre, University of Canberra.

Boys CA and Thoms MC (2006) A large-scale, hierarchical approach for assessing habitat associations of fish assemblages in large dryland rivers. Hydrobiologia  572: 11-31.

Boys CA, Esslemont G and Thoms MC (2005) Fish Habitat Assessment and Protection in the Barwon-Darling and Paroo Rivers. Final Report by the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries and Cooperative Research Centre for Freshwater Ecology to the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. NSW Department of Primary Industries, Nelson Bay,105pp.

Boys CA and Beal AM (2000) Salivary secretion during selective ß-adrenoreceptor stimulation and blockade in the parotid gland of red kangaroos, Macropus rufus. Journal of Comparative Physiology B: Biochemical, Systemic, and Environmental Physiology 35-45.

Boys CA (1998) Identification of ß-adrenergic receptor subtypes in the parotid gland of the red kangaroo (Macropus rufus) and the glandular response to their sympathomimetic stimulation. Honors Thesis, Department of Biological Sciences, University of New South Wales.

Professional associations and activities

• Scientific Rep on the Demonstration Reach Task Force (MDBC)  
• Research Associate of the Riverine Landscapes Research laboratory, University of Canberra (http://www.canberra.edu.au/centres/riverinelab/index.htm)
• Member of the Australian Society of Fish Biology

Fields of Research

• 060204  Freshwater Ecology
• 050102  Ecosystem Function
• 050104  Landscape Ecology
• 050202  Conservation and Biodiversity
• 050206  Environmental Monitoring
• 050207  Environmental Rehabilitation
• 070402  Aquatic Ecosystem Studies and Stock Assessment
• 050211  Wildlife and Habitat Management
• 050205  Environmental Management
• 060202  Community Ecology
• 060205  Marine and Estuarine Ecology

Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)

Keyword/phrase list of research interests

• Fish Habitat
• Aquatic habitat rehabilitation
• Fish passage
• Freshwater ecology
• Fisheries science
• Landscape ecology
• Fluvial systems
• Floodplain rivers
• Hydrology
• Geomorphology